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‘City

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Volume XLVIII • Number 4www.portlandobserver.com

Wednesday • January 23, 2019Established in 1970

Committed to Cultural Diversity

photo by Danny peterson/the portlanD observer

Brian Florence (left), one of the workers at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan forced to go without pay during a government shutdown, gets a word of encouragement and a thank you from U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, during a visit Friday to the Oregon Food Bank in northeast Portland. Florence also met with other members of Oregon’s Congressional delegation, Democratic Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer joining a chorus of voices to condemn the shutdown and call on President Donald Trump to end it.

Shutdown Impacts GrowFood pantries are lifeline to furloughed workersby Danny peterson

the portlanD observer

Furloughed and unpaid federal workers from around the state were bracing for more financial uncertainty while also receiving emergency help from food pantries to feed their families as the longest partial government shutdown

in U.S. history entered its second month and 32nd day on Tuesday.

Members of Oregon’s Congressional delegation, in-cluding Democrats Sen. Ron Wyden, Rep. Earl Blume-nauer, and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, called on the presi-dent to end the shutdown during an appearance Friday at

the Oregon Food Bank in northeast Portland.Bonamici said she has voted with the House on nu-

merous bills with bi-partisan support to re-open the gov-ernment, but they’ve been continually blocked by Senate

ContinueD on page 5

Hazardous BeautyA play about friendship with people who are differentSee Metro, page 9

New Effort at Gun ControlFaith leaders draft legislation for current sessionSee Local News, page 3

January 23, 2019

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Service Weekend Honors King Mayor Ted Wheeler (right) helps clean up around Irving Park on Northeast Fremont Street on Monday, one of hundreds of volunteers who mobilized across 73 community projects to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy over the weekend. The 12th Annual MLK Weekend of Service was sponsored by United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, SOLVE, and other community partners.

The Week in ReviewMeasles Emergency Issued; Cases GrowA public health emergency was declared Friday in response to a measles outbreak in Vancou-ver and southwestern Washington. By Tuesday, the number of confirmed measles cases had increased to 23 with 2 suspected cases of the infection.

Merkley on Family Separations Policy Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley released a document last week from a whistleblower showing the Trump Administration specifically considered separating families as a way to curb illegal im-migration at the border. Among the options list-ed was the “prosecution of family units” and “separate family units.”

Reclaim MLK March Fills Portland StreetsHundreds of demonstrators across all age groups filled the streets in north and northeast Portland Sunday on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day Holiday for the Reclaim MLK Annual March for Human Rights and Dignity. The protest was organized by Don’t Shoot Port-land along with a variety of other community

organizations.

TriMet Hire Leaving AgencyMaurice Henderson, who was Mayor Ted Wheeler’s first chief of staff, announced last week he’s leaving TriMet after a brief tenure as the transpor-tation agency’s chief operating officer. Henderson is joining the e-scooter com-pany Bird, in Bend, which he called “an excit-ing professional opportunity.”

Man Kills Four Members of Oregon FamilyA rural white man killed four members of his family at the home they shared in Woodburn Saturday and was shot by sheriff’s deputies as he tried to kill a girl, authorities said.

Microsoft Donates to Fight Homelessness Microsoft last week pledged $500 million to build and preserve affordable housing units and address homelessness in the Seattle area. Most of the money will be aimed at increasing hous-ing options for low- and middle-income work-ers including teachers, firefighters and people who work in hospitals.

Portland Sex Offender Convicted AgainA Multnomah County Jury convicted a Port-land man last week on 23 counts of various sex crimes involving a 15-year-old girl. An-thony Curry, 54, was already serving a life sentence under Oregon’s three strikes law for sex offenders.

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The Week in Review page 2

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January 23, 2019

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Rev. Mark Knutson of Augustana Lutheran Church in northeast Portland is again leading an effort to strengthen gun control laws in Oregon as part of the Lift Every Voice campaign of interfaith leaders and other supporters, including representatives from the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform.

New Effort at Gun ControlFaith leaders draft legislation for current sessionby Danny peterson

the portlanD observer

Local faith leaders and advo-cates from around the state in support of stronger gun control measures are planning on intro-ducing two bills to the legislature this year.

The Lift Every Voice Oregon campaign is an interfaith group spear-headed by multiple denom-inations of religious leaders in the

Portland area, and statewide, as well as non-religious supporters.

A ban on ammunition maga-zines greater than 10 rounds and phasing out availability of assault rifles will be in the proposed bills.

Dr. Leroy Haynes, pastor of Al-len Temple CME Church in north-east Portland and representing the Albina Ministerial Alliance Coali-tion for Justice and Police Reform said the push is in response to the

“massive repercussions of gun vi-olence in our community and na-tion.”

After unsuccessfully petition-ing for a ballot initiative of sim-ilar measures last year, in the wake of the deadly shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., Lift Every Voice organizers say they have continued gaining traction

Christopher Alexander Williamson Nancy Bergeson

Charged in Lawyer’s MurderAuthorities have arrested a

man in the decade-old murder of a Portland public defender.

The Portland Police Bureau said Christopher Alexander Wil-liamson, 28, was taken into custo-dy on Friday for the death of Nan-cy Bergeson, a prominent lawyer.

It’s unknown if Williamson, who would have been 19 years old at the time, knew Bergeson, who was a long-time assistance federal public defender, authorities said.

She was found dead at the age of 57 in her southwest Portland home in November 2009. It was eventually determined that she was strangled to death. But at the time she was discovered, her body was removed from the crime

scene because authorities initially believed she died of natural caus-es. That hampered the investiga-tion and the cold case remained a

mystery for years.Police say they tracked down

Williamson after a number of leads.

ContinueD on page 4

autO review

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MetrOpage 9

January 23, 2019

with people across the state who support the cause. Those groups and individuals include safety or-ganizations, those who worked on gun legislation in the past, medi-cal professionals, and members of law enforcement, organizer Rev. Mark Knutson of Augustana Lu-theran Church in northeast Port-land, told the Portland Observer.

“As faith leaders we understand when you come to a place of obsta-cle you just regroup and work even harder to go the next step. That’s what we did,” Knutson said.

The Supreme Court ruled last year that Petition 43, the original initiative of the campaign, needed to be re-worded due to vague lan-guage. It was later withdrawn be-cause the group ran out of time to gather signatures by the deadline.

The new bills, which were first submitted back in September, are expected to receive official num-bers by the end of the week.

Lift Every Voice organizers, meanwhile, invite the community to convene again for a vigil and rally with supporters on Sunday, Jan. 27 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Augustana Lutheran Church, 2710 N.E. 14th Ave.

Gun ControlContinueD from page 3

Miracles Club ScholarshipsA special events committee

of the Miracles Club invites the community to join them during the presentation of college schol-arships of $500 awarded to two Jefferson High School students while also supporting efforts to grow the program for other local high schools such as Grant, Ben-

Pacific Power is installing smart meters for residential and busi-ness customers in the Portland area.

Pacific Power Replacing MetersInstallations coming first half of year

Pacific Power is bringing more efficient and effective smart me-ters to residential and business customers in the Portland area, replacing thousands of aging elec-tric meters throughout the first half of the year.

About 78,000 new meters will be installed for area custom-ers. This includes parts of north,

son and Roosevelt.The non-alcoholic and non-

profit social club named its schol-arship fund is in honor of long-time recovery advocate Harry Watson.

“We are proud to honor a great man who made a huge impact in the lives of people in recovery,”

said Martin Rivers.The scholarships presentation

will take place on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. at the Miracles Club, located at 4200 N.E. Martin Lu-ther King Jr. Blvd. For more information, email [email protected] or stop by the club.

northeast, southeast, and down-town Portland, as well as May-wood Park. The installations are set to begin next week and will continue in the area through June.

“We’re installing smart me-ters in Portland as part of a state-

wide upgrade for the homes and businesses we serve,” said Diana Knous, Pacific Power’s regional business manager for Multnomah County. “It’s a project that will enable our communities to take advantage of faster, more efficient

energy technology.” The new smart meters will

instantly track outages, mean-ing faster service response and shorter outages overall; let cus-tomers view their power usage hour-by-hour, so they can ad-just their activity to reduce both their carbon footprint and bill; provide businesses with detailed usage reporting which will help them cut costs and make invest-ments in items that help their business grow; and update the grid to work more efficiently and better integrate renewable power sources.

“This upgrade brings a future of reliable and efficient power to our region and to our state,” said Knous. “We are connecting com-munities throughout Oregon, im-proving the way we power our customers’ lives both at home and at work.”

January 23, 2019

ContinueD from front

Majority Leader Mitch McCon-nell, R-Kentucky, who refused to put them up for a vote because they didn’t include Trump’s wall funding in full.

“Stop holding federal workers hostage because Congress won’t get him funding for an ineffective and expensive border wall that he promised that Mexico was sup-posed to pay for,” Bomanici said.

Wyden said the shutdown “isn’t making American great,” but rath-er is “making American wait for Donald Trump to come to his sens-es and finally re-open the govern-ment.”

Blumenauer urged Trump to “stop this charade” and called the government work stoppage “mind-boggling.”

Bonamici said she’s heard sto-ries from a Transportation Security Administration worker who had to sell his plasma just to pay his bills and a law enforcement officer who narrowly evaded eviction for lack of rent money.

More than 500 U.S. Coast Guard members in Oregon are continuing their duties, even without receiv-ing pay, Bomanici said, which has been the case nationally, the first time members of the Armed Forces weren’t paid during a shutdown.

These stories are examples of why the shutdown is “infuriating” and “must end,” she said.

About 800,000 of the 2.1 million federal employees who have been impacted by the shutdown nation-ally, including 380,000 who were furloughed and are not working and the remainder of which who are considered essential employ-ees and must work without pay. In Oregon, that’s nearly 10,000 fed-eral employees who are either fur-loughed or working without pay, according to the Oregon Employ-ment Department.

Brian Florence, who works at the federal prison in Sheridan, told the Portland Observer it’s been a struggle for him and other em-ployees at the prison to pay rent, provide food for their families and cover medical costs.

Florence, 49, said that although his family has managed to stay afloat so far through limited sec-ondary income from his wife and receiving help from food pantries at Oregon Food Bank and Salva-tion Army, it’s been daunting not going without a paycheck.

“I have two beautiful kids and they need special attention medi-cally. So we have additional costs that are coming in right now and we’re having trouble to figure it out. Like, do we pay our medical bills or do we hold back for gas? Or do we pay our rent? What are we going to do? We have to figure it out,” he said.

If the shutdown continues, Flor-


State Rep. Tawna Sanchez, director of family services at the Native American Youth and Family Center in northeast Portland highlights some of the impacts of the government shutdown on people of color, including Native American tribes who depend on federal funds for health, food and social services. She was joined at the press conference on Friday at the Oregon Food Bank with furloughed and unpaid federal workers and other Democratic members of Oregon’s Congressional delegation.

Shutdown Impacts Growence, who lives in Salem, will again not see a check for the second pay-day in a row this week. He’s try-ing to organize for food pantries to come to the prison to drop off food for him and his co-workers. Sen. Wyden personally thanked Flor-ence for his service.

Kirsten Wageman, executive director of Snowcap, the largest

food pantry in the state and locat-ed in east Portland near Gresham, said their organization is seeing an increase in either furloughed or working-without-pay federal em-ployees who are using safety net services for the first time.

Democratic State Rep. Tawna Sanchez, who represents parts of inner northeast and north Portland and is the director of family ser-vices at the Native American Youth and Family Center, highlighted the communities of color that are deep-ly impacted by the government shutdown, including Native Amer-ican tribes who depend on federal funds for health, food, and social services.

“United States Government has a trust responsibility to the tribes. This is written in treaty,” Sanchez said. “This is a responsibility, it’s not a gift, it’s not a given.” San-chez, who is a social worker and has worked in the domestic vio-lence filed, later compared Trump to an abuser. “Abusers only think about themselves, they don’t think about everybody else,” she said.

On Saturday, Trump made an offer to temporarily restore pro-tections he took away from some undocumented immigrants in ex-change for the $5.7 billion border wall funding. That was an offer Speaker of the House Nancy Pelo-si, speaking for Democrats, called “a compilation of several previ-ously rejected initiatives, each of

which is unacceptable and in total, do not represent a good faith ef-fort to restore certainty to people’s lives.”

Trump proposed to restore deportation protection for some Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and Tempo-rary Protected Status recipients for three years--two programs for

immigrants that he rescinded last year. Pelosi’s statement criticized the fact that the deal did not include permanent solutions for those re-cipients, and its lack of “smart, effective border security solu-

tions,” like increased infrastruc-ture investments at ports of entry, advanced technology to scan for drugs, weapons, and contraband, 3,000 more border patrol agents, and more immigrant judges.

Democrats plan to pass its own package of six bills agreed to by House and Senate negotiators to re-open the government this week, according to the website of Pelosi’s office.

On Friday, some of the 615,000

Oregonians participating in Sup-plemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), AKA food stamps, were issued February ben-efits early to last through the end of next month. The supplemental

nutrition program for Women, In-fant and Children (WIC) will also be funded through February, and school meal funding is secured through March, according to Ore-gon Food Bank.

At airports, longer wait times at security checkpoints may occur, but TSA officials said most opera-tions are running normally.

Though the US Coast Guard have been working without pay during the shutdown, most other military isn’t affected, and the De-partment of Veterans Affairs is ful-ly funded for the 2019 fiscal year and will continue normal operation during the shutdown.

Mail, tax refunds, and social security should remain unaffect-ed. National parks may be closed, or be only partially staffed, and Smithsonian museums and the Na-tional Zoo are now closed.

Oregon Food Bank distributes food through a statewide network of 21 regional food banks and approximately 1,200 food assis-tance sites serving all of Oregon and Clark County, Washington. People seeking food assistance should visit oregonfoodbank.com/findfood.

Portland Police Bureau’s charity organization, Sunshine Division, will extend service qualifiers to include federal employees not re-ceiving pay by providing food box services in partnership with labor organizations. More information can be found at sunshinedivision.org.

Oregon Humane Society has also scheduled free pet food banks to furloughed or work-without-pay federal employees. More infor-mation can be found at oregonhu-mane.org.

January 23, 2019

Calendar January2019

SUNDAYMONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

First U.S. Presiden-tial Election held, 1789

Old Rock Day

Elvis Presley born, 1935

Make Your Dreams Come True Day

National Apricot DayNational Static Elec-tricity Day

First Meeting of Unit-ed Nations General Assembly in London, 1946

Milk DayAmelia Earhart flew across Pacific Ocean, 1935

Work Harder DayAuthor Jack London born, 1876

Secret Pal DayPoetry Break Day

National Dress Up Your Pet Day

The Revolutionary War ended, 1784

First Super Bowl Played, 1967

Hat Day The first top hat was worn, 1797

Prohibition began in 1920

National Nothing Day

Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) born, 1942

Benjamin Franklin born, 1706

Marks the beginning of the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial

Artist Paul Cezanne born, 1839

Popcorn Day

Inauguration Day (Every 4 years: 2013, 2017, 2021)

Cheese Day

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Born in 1929)

National Hugging Day

National Blonde Brownie Day

Measure Your Feet Day

National Handwriting Day

National Pie Day

Gold Discovered in California At Sutter’s Mill, 1848

Opposite DayFirst Winter Olympics held, 1924

Australia Day (first settled, 1788)

National Geographic Society Founded, 1888

Jackson Pollock born, 1912 (Artist)

National Kazoo Day

Baseball Hall of Fame established (1936)

National Puzzle Day

Franklin D. Roo-sevelt born, 1882 (23rd President)

Backwards DayJackie Robinson born, 1919 (Baseball Great)

January 23, 2019

JaMartae Brown (center) returns to his roots at Portland’s Self Enhancement, Inc. to announce his signing of a contract to play professional football for the Bismark Bucks in the Indoor Football League.

SEI Alum to Play Pro FootballReturns home for signing ceremony

A former Jefferson High School ath-lete and student at Self Enhancement, Inc., was welcomed back to his roots in north Portland to announce his sign-ing of a contract to play professional

football.JaMartae Brown will play for the

Bismark Bucks from North Dakota in the Indoor Football League. The con-tract offer follows his senior year at Peru State in Nebraska.

Brown was joined by his friends and family and SEI students and administra-tors for last week’s signing ceremony.

He said he at first struggled to find a good fit in college because his grades were not good coming out of high school, landing at Phoenix College, a junior college program for two years be-fore earning a scholarship to Mayville State University in North Dakota. But when his coach got fired he transferred to Peru State in Nebraska where he fin-

ished his senior year while also studying English and Journalism.

Brown said the key for him was never giving in.

“It took hard work, Never giving up when it got tough. God, family, commu-nity and unity to get where I’m at right now. It’s just the beginning of some-thing special,” he said.

January 23, 2019

&ArtsENTERTAINMENT

photo by Craig mitChellDyer. Antonía Darlene, Malia Tippets, Dan Murphy, Laura McCulloch and Danielle Valentine in “Nunsense” at Tigard’s Broadway Rose Theatre Company, Jan. 24 – Feb. 24.

A Habit Forming MusicalYou’re invited to join the Little

Sisters of Hoboken for a hysterical-ly haphazard variety show to raise

emergency funds for the convent.The Rose Theatre Company

opens its new season of musicals Following Your Own BlissOregon Children’s Theater presents a play that exposes the truth about being yourself and wearing it well. The ‘Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Rock Experience’ tells the story of Wilbur who was just like all the other naked mole rats – naked – until the day an ordinary hat falls into his tunnel. Wilbur dares to try it on and his life changes forever. Shows continue through Feb. 17 at the Newmark Theater, downtown. For tickets, call 503-288-9571, visit octc.org or the box office at 1111 S.W. Broadway.

with “Nunsense” at the Broadway Rose New Stage in Tigard, located at 12850 S.W. Grant Ave.

With hilarious talent acts, tongue-in-cheek musical num-bers, and help from the audience, Nunsense has blessed theatrego-ers worldwide for over 30 years and is the second longest-running Off-Broadway show in history.

A preview performance is Thursday, Jan. 24 with opening night on Friday, Jan. 25, and per-formances continuing through Feb. 24.

For tickets, visit broadwayrose.org, call 503-620-5262, or visit the box office.

January 23, 2019

MississippiAlbertaNorth Portland

VancouverEast County

Beaverton

photo by Jerry foster Quigley Provost-Landrum (left) and Trish Egan perform as two women, one black and one white, who meet in a memoir writing class where they critique each other’s work and come to understand and learn from each other .

Hazardous BeautyMaking friends with people who are different

“Hazardous Beauty,” a play about two women, one black and one white, who meet in a memoir writing class and come to understand and learn from one another, makes its world premiere this month at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center in north Portland.

Written by Bonnie Ratner, a Portland writer, producer, director, actor and edu-cator, and performed by Portland’s Afri-can-American theater producing company, PassinArts, the new production debuts as part of Portland’s annual Fertile Ground

Festival of new works.Hazardous Beauty is a provocative,

often very funny guide to making friends with people who are different from us.

The characters Chloe, played by Quig-ley Provost-Landrum, and Leah, played by Trish Egan share stories and experiences about their sometimes painful, at times joy-ful and often humorous lives. The women, although from different backgrounds, try to make sense of love, work, art and aging while exploring what all this means at the intersection of gender, race and class.

During the 2016 Fertile Ground Festi-val reading of Hazardous Beauty, audienc-es called this play “wonderfully provoc-ative, witty, complex and brilliant.” The story has been revised and updated with new surprises for this fully produced world premiere.

“Hazardous Beauty” opens Friday, Jan. 25 and plays through Feb. 17 at the Inter-state Firehouse, located at 5340 N. Inter-state Ave. Showtimes are Friday and Sat-urdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Audience talkbacks will follow the Sunday

matinees on Feb. 3 and Feb.10.Individual tickets are $20 and $15 for

seniors and students and available online at passinart.org or visiting JP’s Framing & Gallery, 418 N.E. Killingsworth.

PassinArt: A Theatre Company was founded in 1982 and is the longest-pro-ducing African-American theatre compa-ny in Oregon. The group’s mission is to entertain, educate, and inspire artists and diverse audiences while addressing critical issues facing our community; and to cele-brate our history and culture.

January 23, 2019

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Exploring the intersections of race, gender and national origin, Shareen Jacobs and Sampson Syharath star in ‘Here on this Bridge: The ---Ism Project,’ one of the original new works featured during Portland’s Fertile Ground festival. The production plays Jan. 24-27 and Feb. 7-10 at Boiler Room Theater in Lincoln Hall at Portland State University.

Festival of New Works120 acts of creation celebrated citywide

The Portland-grown Fertile Ground Citywide Festival of New Works kicks off its 10th anniversa-ry this week, bringing to stage the first of 75 events and 120 acts of creation from prolific playwrights, abundant actors, innovative dancers, talented de-signers and adventuresome producers.

Fertile Ground is an incubator for new artistic works in all forms and stages of creation, offering

theatre and dance, workshops, staged readings and multidisciplinary events – for 11 days, at all times of the day, from Thursday, Jan. 24 to Sunday, Feb. 3.

“Fertile Ground is a celebration of Portland’s artistic community that gives artists the platform to take chanc-es, share their artistic impulses and cultivate some pro-ducing skills, while getting introduced to new audienc-es,” said Nicole Lane, Fertile Ground festival director.

Patrons can purchase individual tickets to each show or buy a $50 all-access festival pass. For de-tails and a full list of Fertile Ground 2019 events, visit fertilegroundpdx.com.

Malcolm Jamaal Davis, a rapper and songwriter from Atlanta, better known by his stage name MadeinTYO (Made in Tokyo), performs from his debut album ‘Sincerely, Tokyo’ at Portland’s Hawthorne Theater on Saturday, Jan. 26. Davis grew up as a military brat moving around and finished high school in Japan. His debut single was “Uber Everywhere” from his mixtape You Are Forgiven.

Sincerely, Tokyo Rapper

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exhibit-related programming.

The Discovery of King Tut -- A compelling reproduction of the burial treasure from King Tut’s tomb, discovered 95 years ago in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings, is pre-sented in the trav-eling exhibit ‘The Discovery of King Tut,’ now showing through Sunday, Jan. 27 at OMSI. For tickets and more information, visit omsi.edu or call the box office at 503-797-4000.

Norman Sylvester Band -- “Boogie Cat” Norman Syl-vester plays Friday, Jan. 25 at Clyde’s; Saturday, Feb. 2 at Catfish Lou’s; Saturday, Feb. 9 at the Spare Room; Friday, Feb. 15 at Wilf’s; Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Vinyl Tap; Friday, Feb. 22 at Clyde’s; and Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Half Penny in Salem.

New Chinatown Museum -- “Made in Chinatown, USA: Portland,” a photo exhibit capturing the cultural pride of Portland’s Asian community marks the opening of a new Portland Chinatown Museum at 127 N.W. Third Ave. Ad-missions is a suggested $5 and free on First Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Sense & Sensibility -- Da-nea C. Osseni (The Color Purple) returns to Portland Center Stage as Elinor Dashwood in Sense & Sen-sibility. Bursting with hu-mor and bold theatricality, the classic romantic come-dy is now playing through Feb. 10. Tickets can be pur-chased by calling the box office at 503-445-3700 or visiting t pcs.org.

Journalism and Democracy -- A provocative onstage con-versation about journalism and justice will feature Kim-berly A. C. Wilson, a former black journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner, and two other renowned writers. Sponsored by Oregon Humanities, the Think & Drink event takes place at the Alberta Rose Theatre, 3000 N.E. Alberta St., from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. General-admission tickets are $10.

Life under Nazi Rule -- The Portland Art Museum and Or-egon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education jointly present two exhibitions this fall and winter featuring photographs by the late Polish-Jewish photojournalist Hen-ry Ross offering an extraordinary rare glimpse of life under Nazi rule. Both facilities are offering offer a full slate of

Dial M for Murder -- Lakewood Theatre Company pres-ents “Dial M for Mur-der,” a bone-chilling thriller about a mar-riage gone wrong. Now playing through Feb. 10 at Lakewood Center for the Arts in Lake Oswego. For tickets and more in-formation. call the box office at 503-635-3901 or visit lakewood-center.org.

Zoo for All -- The Oregon Zoo has launched “Zoo for All,” a discount program that provides $5 admission for low income individuals and families. Visitors may purchase up to six of the $5 tickets by brining a photo ID and documentation showing they participate in low income service, like the Oregon Trial Card, Medicaid, Section 8, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Head Start.

Discount Tickets -- Low income families and individuals can purchase $5 tickets to classical musical performances in Portland as part of a unique program called Music for All. Participating organizations include the Oregon Sym-phony, Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theater, Chamber Music Northwest, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Friends of Chamber Music, Portland Chamber Orchestra, Portland Piano International, Portland Symphonic Choir, Cappella Romana and Portland Vocal Consort.

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January 23, 2019

OpiniOn Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to [email protected].

A Dream Deferred: Economic JusticeRacial wealth divide actually grows worseby JessiCah pierre

Jan. 15th marked what would’ve been Dr. Martin Luther King’s 90th birth-day.

Most known for his fa-mous “I Have Dream Speech,” King envisioned a future in which deep racial inequalities — including deep economic inequality — was eradicat-ed. He worked tirelessly towards that mission.

Over 50 years after his assassination, sensational media stories have focused heavily on the black unemployment rate, which has reached historic lows.

President Trump was quick to claim credit for this improvement last year, tweeting: “Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to be at the LOWEST RATE

EVER RECORDED!” (The rapper had recently criticized the president for a racist statement about African countries.)

These headlines (and boasts) don’t tell the whole story, though. Most importantly, they exclude data on overall wealth — a critical measure of financial security. Wealth buffers families from the ups and downs of in-come changes and economic

cycles, and allows households to take advantage of opportunities.

A new report by the Institute for Policy Studies takes a more holistic look at where the country is in terms of racial economic parity. It reveals deep, pervasive, and ongoing racial economic division.

The study shows that wealth is con-centrating into fewer and fewer hands over time. And though working white people also struggle, the hands at the very top are overwhelmingly white. Far from closing, America’s polariz-ing racial wealth divide is continuing to grow between white households

and households of color.Over the past three decades, the re-

port notes, “the median black family saw their wealth drop by a whopping 50 percent, compared to a 33 percent increase for the median white house-hold.”

King foreshadowed that if we main-tain our exploitive economic and po-litical systems, then we’d get not only racial apartheid, but economic apart-heid as well.

And unfortunately, that is exactly where we’re heading without system-ic change. While one in five Amer-icans of any race have zero or even negative wealth, in the last 30 years we’ve seen the number of households with $10 million or more skyrocket by 856 percent.

The widening of the racial wealth divide has coincided with the extreme concentration of U.S. wealth. We’re currently living in an economy where the Forbes 400 own more wealth than all black households, plus a quarter of Latino households, combined.

As much as we cite the vision that

MLK laid out for America, decades later we’ve not moved in the right di-rection.

This dynamic is the result of public policies that favor the wealthy, not the “invisible hand” of the market. This has implications for the racial wealth divide, as well as the entire economy. As the U.S. diversifies, these inequal-ities are actually driving down Ameri-ca’s total median wealth — and giving the already rich that much more of a leg up over everyone else.

As the mid-20th century civil rights movement recognized, a major shift in economic policy is needed to end the racial inequality of the past and cre-ate a new nation with opportunity for all. Inaction — or worse, repeating the same mistakes that led to this situation — will simply widen the divide and create greater economic instability for the country at large. And I’ll be writ-ing this same piece again next year.

Jessicah Pierre is the inequality media specialist at the Institute for Policy Studies. Distributed by Other-Words.org.

Disruptions Create Chilling Effect on PeopleA few white men think everything is about themby Jo ann harDesty

As I start my third week on the Portland City Council, I am con-cerned about how privilege and, spe-cifically white male privilege, is lim-iting the public’s access to City Hall. These disruptions create a chilling ef-fect on people who are unaccustomed to coming to our City Hall to have their voices heard. People are afraid to bring their children to our important civic meetings.

These disruptions seem to be caused largely by a small group of white men who use their privilege to act disrup-tive, act disrespectful and act self-cen-tered.

This behavior limits access to those entering this building for the very first time or for those who are new to the political process. This is not the spirit of speaking up for civic change that is

the heart of activism.I ran my campaign on a platform

of creating One Portland. I promised a Portland where regardless of race, income, sexual orientation, or coun-try of origin you will have a respect-ful interaction and reception when you

enter City Hall and from city officials. We fail in our job when we don’t make access equal, accessible, and fair to all who seek a voice in our processes. We live in a state built on white supremacy and the legacies of that history linger

on today.Many of the disruptors are people that

I know personally and I respect their de-sire to be heard. I share their concerns and I, too, am passionate about many of the issues that they care about. Howev-er, their issues and concerns shouldn’t

drown-out the voices of others who come to this building seeking the same access and opportunity.

As someone who has spent time a lot of time on the other side of this podi-um demanding accountability, I find it

chilling and disrespectful that there are a few white men who think that every-thing this council does is about them. It isn’t.

I want to engage people from all walks of life in their local government, but I am very concerned about how they will experience their local gov-ernment if their first, second or third experience at City Council consists of constant disruption.

My open message to those who seek to disrupt this process is this:

If you have a proposal to improve the outcomes for people in the city of Portland, you will find a welcoming ear and my office is ready to assist you. However, if this is simply about having footage for your YouTube channel or Facebook page, you should be aware that using your privilege in this way cannot continue. You have a right to have your voice heard, but not at the expense of other people.

I am encouraging other white men and women to check the behavior of those who seek to drown out the voices of others. Civic discourse cannot thrive if it is not coupled with civility and re-spect for all others.

Jo Ann Hardesty is a Portland City Commissioner.

Many of the disruptors are people that I know personally and I respect their desire to be heard. I share their concerns and I, too, am passionate about many of the issues that they care about. However, their issues and concerns shouldn’t drown-out the voices of others who come to this building seeking the same access and opportunity.

January 23, 2019

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The Wall Already Exists In Hearts and MindsA barrier to seeing immigrants as peopleby matthew Johnson

My favorite album of all time is Pink Floyd’s The Wall. It should be re-released given the current (manufactured) crisis. I’m not surprised that Roger Waters is planning a show on the border to protest Trump’s continued government shutdown over funding for an ill-defined barrier that has come to represent everything wrong with his presidency: Lies, false promises, fear, racism and simplistic solutions.

It’s important to emphasize that the wall is more symbol than reality. Setting aside the fact that the nearly-2,000-mile border is already teeming with armed men and barriers of various kinds, a Trumpian “wall” already exists: the (abstract) wall that blocks many Americans from seeing migrants from Central America and Mex-ico as people just like them.

While Trump was rightly condemned for misappropriating the Game of Thrones slogan “Winter Is Coming” by taking the font and changing it to “The Wall Is Coming,” the underlying analo-gy is eerily correct. Although — spoiler alert — the (mythical) wall is destroyed by undead invaders (who only advance during winter) at the end of the show’s last season, for thousands of years it served to separate the living not only from the undead but also from each oth-

er. In a reversal of reality, those living south of the wall disparaged the north-erners as “wildlings,” portraying them as amoral, violent, and uncivilized, while the northerners denounced their southern brethren for their cloistered arrogance. Sound familiar?

The silver lining from Game of Thrones is that the north and south eventually (sort of) united against the undead, and, in return for their help in the war to come, the “wildlings” were permitted to settle

south of the wall for safety. It remains to be seen (in season 8) whether this united force will prevail, but the mythical uni-verse has nevertheless solved a timeless problem that those of us stuck here in re-ality are still struggling with: xenophobic nativism.

Somehow it remains lost to millions of (especially) white Americans — even in the 21st century with all its forward-think-ing innovations and popular culture — that their southern neighbors are not dan-gerous invaders but people with largely

the same feelings, needs, and aspirations that they themselves possess.

Meanwhile, it remains lost on many Israelis and American supporters of Israel (not to mention Trump) that the so-called “security fence” that illegally snakes through Palestinian land is not only hid-eous (I’ve seen it up close) but far more of a barrier to peace than to terrorism.

Walls have been built for millennia, most notably the Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall, with discouraging results.

To conclude that this (still) nonexistent wall that Mexico will surely not pay for will be any different is just as absurd as concluding that the ascension of an un-qualified, hate- and fear-mongering nar-cissist to the highest office in the land would be a reason to celebrate. It is as if we have learned nothing from history and have forgotten how to think critically.

If a television show can get it right, then why can’t we?

Matt Johnson, syndicated by PeaceV-oice, is co-author of Trumpism.

Somehow it remains lost to millions of (especially) white Americans — even in the 21st century with all its forward-thinking innovations and popular culture — that their southern neighbors are not dangerous invaders but people with largely the same feelings, needs, and aspirations that they themselves possess.

January 23, 2019

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Event Manager, part-time, temporary, Oregon Convention Center, $22.82 hourly. Deadline date: January 31, 2019These opportunities are open to First Opportunity Target Area (FOTA) residents: This area includes the following zip codes located primarily in N, NE and a small portion of SE Portland: 97024, 97030, 97203, 97211, 97212, 97213, 97216, 97217, 97218, 97220, 97227, 97230, 97233, 97236, and 97266, whose total annual income was less than $47,000 for a household of up to two individuals or less than $65,000 for a household of three or more.Visit oregonmetro.gov/FOTA for the complete job announcement and a link to our online hiring center or visit our lobby kiosk at Metro, 600 NE Grand Ave, Portland.

Metro is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP 3613

Information Technology Strategic Plan Bid Date: February 14, 2019 by 2:00 PM

Metro, a metropolitan service district organized under the laws of the State of Oregon and the Metro Charter, located at 600 NE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR 97232-2736, is requesting proposals for Information Technology Strategic Plan services. Metro, is inviting proposals from qualified service providers to deliver an overall five (5) year Strategic Plan to guide the Information Services (IS) Department in planning, procuring, implementing and managing current and future technology investments and resources. Sealed submissions are due no later than 2:00 PM, February 14, 2019 in Metro’s business offices at 600 NE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR 97232-2736, Attention: Riko Tannenbaum, Procurement Analyst, RFP 3613. Solicitation documents can be viewed and downloaded from the Oregon Procurement Information Network (ORPIN) at http://orpin.oregon.gov/open.dll/ Metro may accept or reject any or all proposals, in whole or in part, or waive irregularities not affecting substantial rights if such action is deemed in the public interest. Metro extends equal opportunity to all persons and specifically encourages minority, women-owned and emerging small businesses to access and participate in this and all Metro projects, programs and services. Metro and its contractors will not discriminate against any person(s), employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, political affiliation or marital status. Metro fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Complaint Form, see www.oregonmetro.gov.

REQUEST FOR BIDS Investor Alert!! Land for sale; 5,000 square feet multifamily zoned, centrally located from downtown Portland, Moda Center, easy freeway access, in hot and upcoming N/NE Portland Williams Avenue corridor! Contact agent for more info or to walk property. Carol Collier, Coldwell Banker Bain, [email protected], 503-880-5807

Gladys Knight will sing the National Anthem for the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 in her hometown of Atlanta.

Knight to Sing AnthemGladys Knight will sing “The

Star-Spangled Banner” at this year’s Super Bowl.

The seven-time Grammy Award-winner says she’s proud to use her voice to “unite and represent our country” in her hometown of Atlanta.

The 74-year-old and the Pips were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Her

hits include “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “That’s What Friends Are For.”

Maroon 5 will be joined by Big Boi, Atlanta-based rapper from Outkast, and Travis Scott during the halftime performance.

CBS broadcasts this year’s Super Bowl from Mer-cedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Feb. 3.

Embracing His Cultural RootsHawaiian and LGBTQ recording artist and Grammy nominee Kalani Pe’a creates music that embraces a strong foundation of Hawaiian cultural values and practices. A winner and twice nominated for “Best Regional Roots Album,” he will perform Friday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. at the Alberta Rose Theatre.

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January 23, 2019

All New Chevy Silverado

Chevrolet’s popular Silverado truck is back for 2019 with a stan-dard vehicle price of $ 42,600 and scoring an 18 mpg combined city and highway for fuel efficiency.

The all new Silverado comes with a 6-speaker audio system, scan and digital clock, including Bluetooth streaming audio for mu-sic and select phones; USB ports; auxiliary jack; and voice-activated technology for radio and phone.

The truck’s amenities include active aero shutters, front and rear chrome-trimmed front and rear bumpers and mirrors, a deep-tinted Grille surround, a remote locking tailgate, 17 inch wheels, and a full size spare.

The interior includes air condi-tioning, power door locks and win-dows, remote Keyless entry with 2 transmitters, tilt-wheel steering, a theft-deterrent locking feature and cruise controls.

The Silverado comes with a ba-sic 3 year/36,000 mile warranty and includes extended coverage for corrosion and the drive train. Roadside assistance is good for five years or 60,000 miles.

AutoReviewPortlAnd observer

GM Loyalty Tops 1 MillionGM announced last week that

more than one million Chevro-let, GMC, Buick and Cadillac drivers have signed upfor My GM Rewards, the automotive industry’s first comprehensive loyalty rewards program.

The program, launched in April of last year, allows custom-ers to earn and redeem points on eligible new purchases including new vehicles, dealer services, accessories and connected ser-vices. It’s also open to non-GM drivers who want to have their vehicles serviced at GM dealer-

ships and make other purchases.“My GM Rewards is our way

of thanking loyal customers and making sure they have a great ownership experience, so they

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January 23, 2019